WEBVTT 00:01.320 --> 00:02.190 Hi there. 00:02.340 --> 00:03.480 And this nice shot. 00:03.900 --> 00:11.700 I would like to introduce the idea of advantages in terms of the ones which are easiest or hardest to 00:11.700 --> 00:12.540 accumulate. 00:13.230 --> 00:18.900 Accumulation is generally easier for the more permanent aspects of a position. 00:20.340 --> 00:24.720 For example, -- related issues like -- structure. 00:25.950 --> 00:32.220 If you can inflict damage -- structure to the opponent in a closed or semi closed position, you can 00:32.220 --> 00:33.210 build on that. 00:33.240 --> 00:40.980 You can intensify pressure and that could eventually lead to material being won or a good, strong attack 00:40.980 --> 00:41.940 against the king. 00:42.480 --> 00:45.660 So in general, positional play is easier. 00:45.870 --> 00:52.410 The more the position is closed, if we look at the situation in the center, if it's a wide open center, 00:52.410 --> 00:58.860 often the game is much more tactical and your idea of accumulating advantages might have to take a backseat 00:58.860 --> 01:00.600 to concrete calculations. 01:00.750 --> 01:03.300 When the pieces are in direct contact with each other. 01:04.860 --> 01:09.410 So sometimes there are issues in accumulating advantages. 01:09.420 --> 01:14.340 Sometimes there's a paradox that the opponent might, for example, have double pawns, so you might 01:14.340 --> 01:18.590 actually need to double them to make advantages which are more exploitable. 01:18.600 --> 01:25.410 And that's part of the beauty, in my view, of the whole idea of accumulating advantages. 01:25.410 --> 01:27.630 It's not as straightforward as you might think. 01:28.050 --> 01:29.670 There's a creativity to it. 01:31.230 --> 01:35.910 So sometimes you need to play a positional exchange, sacrifice to increase the advantage you've got. 01:35.910 --> 01:39.270 Your piece is quite optimal, but there needs to be some sort of breakthrough. 01:40.290 --> 01:45.110 So again, there's a creative aspect quite often to increasing advantages. 01:45.120 --> 01:48.750 It's not just a kind of accounting exercise. 01:48.870 --> 01:52.680 You need creativity to be able to accumulate advantages. 01:52.980 --> 01:57.060 And also, of course, the opponent is going to give you a hard time. 01:57.270 --> 02:04.170 So sometimes not playing the absolute best moves in the position, but rather just good moves is a very 02:04.170 --> 02:08.550 practical thing, which we see some of the best positional players in the world, like Karpov or Adams. 02:08.640 --> 02:17.610 They often playing moves fairly quickly, but they're pretty good and they have this common theme that 02:17.610 --> 02:19.040 they don't allow counterplay. 02:19.050 --> 02:20.310 That's a big theme. 02:20.610 --> 02:25.430 It makes any planning much easier if the opponent hasn't got too much counterplay. 02:25.440 --> 02:27.870 Otherwise you can have to calculate all of that. 02:28.860 --> 02:32.010 You don't want to end up getting checkmated or losing all your material. 02:32.310 --> 02:38.730 So ideally finding moves which minimize counterplay but let you accumulate without too much hassle from 02:38.730 --> 02:39.600 the opponent. 02:39.720 --> 02:42.030 That's the ideal quite often. 02:42.030 --> 02:45.480 So there's also a pragmatism as well as creativity. 02:45.480 --> 02:46.980 We need pragmatism. 02:47.340 --> 02:54.120 So practical pragmatism as in not using too many resources on the clock, not having to use too many 02:54.120 --> 02:57.780 resources to navigate through, very difficult to calculate variations. 02:58.320 --> 03:00.000 So these are brought together. 03:00.000 --> 03:04.830 So it really is an art form, the accumulation of advantages. 03:05.610 --> 03:12.180 Capablanca would also, for example, simplify even with small advantages, and that was a way of reducing 03:12.180 --> 03:16.890 counterplay, making things easier, carrying the advantage even to end games and winning end games 03:16.890 --> 03:17.610 quite often. 03:19.630 --> 03:27.130 So long term goals and logical reasoning about the position as opposed to calculation brute force calculations 03:27.130 --> 03:28.120 about the position. 03:28.570 --> 03:35.140 They require more permanent features that you can rely on more, and then you can accumulate advantages 03:35.140 --> 03:41.620 as opposed to just being involved in tactical calculations all the time and even seemingly insignificant 03:41.620 --> 03:42.340 aspects. 03:42.340 --> 03:45.400 If they're permanent in nature, then they're candidates. 03:45.400 --> 03:47.890 For you being able to accumulate those advantages. 03:47.890 --> 03:55.360 For example, a weak square that you've secured on B six or seven, it's accumulated all you can build 03:55.360 --> 03:57.520 on it, it's more reliable. 03:58.300 --> 04:04.840 So, yes, the pawn structure in chess is almost like a virtual storage device around pawns, which 04:04.840 --> 04:10.480 are the slowest aspects of the possession or other aspects which are not going to change that significantly. 04:10.480 --> 04:19.870 We can base plans on more reliably in general, and we can achieve small wins, which will further boost 04:19.870 --> 04:22.540 our capability for improving advantages. 04:22.540 --> 04:31.060 Further, like an outpost, a nice night outpost, or a past pawn or the bishop pair generally in the 04:31.060 --> 04:32.470 right situations. 04:33.610 --> 04:39.040 So these are small wins which we can use to get even more advantages later. 04:39.340 --> 04:43.060 They might actually be leading to a win in their own right in some way. 04:44.380 --> 04:52.420 Now, once of temporary advantages, there's a creativity there to act quickly on temporary advantages. 04:52.690 --> 04:54.820 Otherwise they'll just disappear. 04:55.270 --> 04:59.140 So I'll give you an example now of converting a temporary advantage. 04:59.140 --> 05:02.170 This is a very, very famous example from Steinitz. 05:02.170 --> 05:03.250 It's a classic. 05:03.670 --> 05:10.330 So Steinitz was playing against Kurt von Bodman in the 1895 Hastings, round ten. 05:11.170 --> 05:14.290 Now, this isn't a totally detailed analysis of the game. 05:14.290 --> 05:15.880 I just want to give you the general gist. 05:15.880 --> 05:20.530 Black's play here played C six, which is a time waste. 05:20.920 --> 05:23.890 Now, if Black gets a chance, King of seven. 05:23.890 --> 05:28.330 And our advantage for the king being in the center is going to be. 05:29.460 --> 05:31.580 Pretty much minimized. 05:31.620 --> 05:33.510 So Black should have played King f7. 05:33.510 --> 05:35.190 They wasted a bit of time. 05:35.190 --> 05:38.790 And this possession, for example, is going to be about even. 05:38.790 --> 05:43.590 In fact, Black has a nice night out post on D five against the isolated Queen's pawn. 05:43.590 --> 05:45.750 So sometimes we need to act quickly. 05:45.750 --> 05:54.030 And this was a great example of acting quickly and dynamically when there is a temporary advantage. 05:54.030 --> 06:03.720 So on C six can you guess what style is played, which is a great way of playing it here. 06:05.450 --> 06:05.910 Okay. 06:05.930 --> 06:07.070 For 100 points. 06:08.600 --> 06:08.960 Yeah. 06:08.960 --> 06:10.710 He played a pawn sacrifice. 06:10.730 --> 06:14.720 Sometimes when we have temporary advantages, we need to invest further material. 06:18.070 --> 06:22.390 Okay, so here, play See 25, F king F seven. 06:22.390 --> 06:29.440 We can play D takes B takes in Quincy for Shaq, and now 94 and Black's on the great scrutiny at C six. 06:29.440 --> 06:36.520 So this position 90 9c6 and here we're getting a nice advantage. 06:37.180 --> 06:42.910 So we've actually won that pawn and we're on the way with a great position to win. 06:43.120 --> 06:46.500 So C takes was played and this gave white. 06:46.510 --> 06:51.100 Now the default square we have 94 and our King F seven here. 06:52.810 --> 06:58.240 So the temporary advantage seems to be it has been transformed as something else. 06:58.240 --> 07:00.580 Issues for black 96. 07:00.910 --> 07:09.060 We have rook he ain't black has to be careful about which rook if rook AC eight Queen G four is dangerous 07:09.070 --> 07:17.440 looking at G seven and let's say Knight and five queen size are five Rook, take one. 07:17.440 --> 07:25.960 This position is not doing well for black after rook C seven check and we're winning the Queen as example. 07:28.610 --> 07:31.310 So Rook, though, was played. 07:31.850 --> 07:32.930 We have Queen G for now. 07:32.930 --> 07:33.800 G six. 07:34.760 --> 07:35.900 And here. 07:37.920 --> 07:38.730 G five check. 07:38.730 --> 07:40.350 So this hits the Queen on D seven. 07:40.350 --> 07:51.240 The king goes to E eight and again, starting plays brilliantly here to convert the advantage into, 07:51.240 --> 07:53.160 you know, to accumulate it. 07:53.670 --> 07:57.210 Well, we're in the realms of tactics, combinations and attack now. 07:57.840 --> 08:00.600 But can you guess what he plays? 08:02.500 --> 08:02.710 Yeah. 08:02.740 --> 08:03.470 Beautiful move, Rook. 08:03.490 --> 08:04.870 Takes E seven check. 08:04.990 --> 08:08.380 Now, White's back row is weak here, so it has to be careful as well. 08:08.380 --> 08:09.520 We have King of eight. 08:11.350 --> 08:12.280 Being played. 08:13.790 --> 08:19.220 If Queen 67 White will take on C eight, and that's just winning. 08:20.570 --> 08:22.640 So here we're going to be exchanging off winning. 08:22.640 --> 08:23.810 So king of a. 08:23.990 --> 08:24.970 So it's tricky. 08:24.980 --> 08:31.350 Our rook is hanging on C one and that would be mate potentially but we have now brilliant move rook 08:31.350 --> 08:35.380 half seven trying to drag the Queen away from King's King G eight. 08:36.120 --> 08:38.480 And now another brilliant move, Rook G seven. 08:38.480 --> 08:38.750 Check. 08:38.780 --> 08:40.910 Trying to make it check for taking the Queen. 08:41.660 --> 08:42.950 We have King H eights. 08:43.430 --> 08:46.760 And now an absolutely amazing game ending move. 08:47.870 --> 08:49.640 Well, pretty logical, perhaps. 08:50.360 --> 08:53.280 Rook takes H seven check and Black resigned. 08:53.300 --> 08:56.450 In fact, Kirk just let his timeout time run out. 08:56.840 --> 09:03.410 And yeah, Steinitz was happy to demonstrate to the audience why this was winning. 09:04.310 --> 09:13.640 So basically, if King Rook g seven check and here White can now use that H file with Queen H four check 09:13.790 --> 09:15.800 and it's a false checkmate sequence. 09:15.800 --> 09:22.940 So Queen H a Queen G seven as an example here, Queen F seven, Queen F eight, nine of seven. 09:22.940 --> 09:24.740 Check and queenly six. 09:25.340 --> 09:32.720 So anyway, this is a classic game example where sometimes if we have temporary advantages which don't 09:32.720 --> 09:38.330 fall into our easier to accumulate, we need to sometimes act dynamically. 09:39.500 --> 09:47.030 So here from the opening, Black was aiming for white to have a weak d pawn and just was trying to play 09:47.030 --> 09:51.680 to secure it down with a reassuring, just one reassuring move. 09:51.680 --> 09:54.230 To many this moves C six. 09:54.230 --> 10:02.030 So we see that sometimes in order to convert temporary advantages before these upset or even we're going 10:02.030 --> 10:07.370 to be slightly worse sometimes with no counterplay, we've sometimes got to as well as securing our 10:07.370 --> 10:10.190 own counterplay, it's it's the way to increase advantages. 10:11.120 --> 10:18.620 So in a nutshell, the accumulation of advantages, I would argue, is a beautiful thing. 10:18.620 --> 10:25.820 It's a beautiful scientific theory of the game, and to achieve it actually requires often huge amounts 10:25.820 --> 10:32.690 of creativity and transformations, paradoxical transformations, sometimes to have more exploitable 10:32.690 --> 10:33.470 weaknesses. 10:33.470 --> 10:36.650 A weakness is only a weakness if it's exploitable. 10:36.740 --> 10:41.000 So what I mean by that, you know, if the opponent has treble pawns but you can't exploit them, there 10:41.000 --> 10:45.770 may be untroubled them and then you have some concrete targets with your pieces. 10:45.770 --> 10:47.390 So you've got to think creatively. 10:47.390 --> 10:52.490 Sometimes you need to play position or exchange sacrifices, and we'll see lots of examples in this 10:52.490 --> 10:56.300 course of the accumulation of advantages and the issues faced. 10:56.690 --> 11:02.300 But generally, the positional players, they don't like too much chaos as part of their openings. 11:02.300 --> 11:10.220 They want to have positions which are more stable in nature generally, which they can more easily reason 11:10.220 --> 11:14.480 about the position in terms of the more permanent aspects of the position. 11:14.480 --> 11:20.150 So that's a common trait we'll see with our positional heroes in this course generally. 11:20.150 --> 11:27.920 But this is a dynamic example showing that even temporary advantages, we can sometimes emphatically 11:27.920 --> 11:33.320 convert them into more permanent ones if we act quickly and dynamically. 11:34.090 --> 11:38.000 Okay, I hope you enjoyed this little introduction. 11:38.700 --> 11:40.860 Food for thought and so much.